Hello to all

[lookupinthesky]

Hello to all

First time on any forum and what a great forum to be on, I have enjoyed reading and getting a lot of excellent information. But I am more confused then I was when I first started to read, let me explain, I’m in the market to by my first scope and was ready to buy a nice big DOB, then I saw a Meade lx 90-LNT with goto technology and not knowing were anything up there is it sounded good. …. To make things worse I have read that there is a 16in DOB coming out soon? I wounder if it would fit in to my station wagon?

Thanks again to all that have put time in to this forum and made my first step in astronomy enjoyable.

Sorry if I have started the old debate on SCT or DOB’S

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[Chrissyo]

Hello and welcome!

I started with pretty much no knowledge of the sky, and I got myself a 10" Dob. I guess I'm more into planetary stuff that DSOs though so it doesn't really matter too much :P I don't know anything about the LX90's, so I can't help you with that.

I'm fairly sure that to transport a 16"er around, you'd need a lot of room in your car. I can only just fit my 10"er in the back of our car.

Once again, welcome :D

[davidpretorius]

Welcome,

I took the road of the biggest newtonian relector and aperture i could afford, knowing i would forgo goto and tracking etc at first, but could save up and purchase eq mounts with goto later and cameras etc etc.

I love my dob, but one of the other local guys here in tassie has a lx90 and it is good too.

For me, i have made the right decision. The feeling of finding neptune and uranus without tracking or goto was a feeling i won't forget!

Either way is a good way. Probably comes down to $ now or $ later. Make sure you ask these guys about the best eyepieces etc. Do you have glasses, do you have a budget for eyepieces and barlows. Planets or nebulas or both?

[TidaLpHasE]

:thumbsup:Welcome lookupinthesky, i am also a newby and know what you mean about the more you read the more you get confused.

The best advice i can offer, is to take your time in deciding what to buy and don't rush into it.

There will be plenty of advice from the members here with more knowledge and know-how.

Enjoy your new hobby/addiction:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

Lookupinthesky, if you can try to attend a local astro group to have a look at the different setups you can afford or would like. i am sure in sunny Melbourne there would be heaps of members of IIS who would be able to show you their scope.

if not the try the Snake Valley Star Party, more advice than you can poke a stick at!

[ballaratdragons]

Welcome lookupintheskyandseelotsofprettysta rsandotherthingslikegalaxiesandnebu lasandglobs!

The new 16" Dobbie coming out is apparently a Truss-Dob. It folds down to practically nothing!!

It would be great if you can make it to Snake Valley (near Ballarat) in about 2 1/2 weeks for the Star Camp.

You will learn heaps! I hope to. :D

[davidpretorius]

yes , silly of me, the camp at the end if this month is the best thing you could get to!

should look at your location more closely!

[ballaratdragons]

Pay attention Dave!!!!! And you are supposed to be the Promotion Officer :doh:

[davidpretorius]

i am truly sorry master, little grasshopper will now balance knives on my privates as punishment!!!

[ballaratdragons]

As long as you don't balance them on the Corporals too! :D


hehehe! cleaned that one up didn't I!

[lookupinthesky]

Thanks

Star camp sounds like the go and you say that it’s on in 2 1/2 weeks. What do I need to do?

[ballaratdragons]

Well lookupintheskyandbeamazedatallthelo velysights,

as you can tell, we are a little bit stir crazy waiting for clear sky. :prey:

We are suffering telescope withrawal.

[ballaratdragons]

Read this for Starters: showpost.php?p=51325&postcount=84

Oops, that link didn't work!

hang on and I'll get it for you somehow.

Help me someone please! I need a link to 'post 84' in the 'IceInSpace Snake Valley Camp' thread so lookupinthesmog can go read it.

[norm]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum, I'm a newbie myself and was in the same dilemma as you were in.:shrug: After much research, reading reviews, opinions, price comparisions, and more reviews a dob between 8-12 inches seems the way to go.
I haven't purchased my dob as yet, as I want to ensure my enthuisasm stays the same in 6 months time before I take the plunge. That said, I think I've read as much as I could about dobsonians to know thats where my money would go - if anything 2 things stand out the most about them is:
1. you get good 'bang for your bucks' for the apeture.
2. simple in concept and design, yet not necessarily compromising on quality.

One thing I have read time and time again is that there is no 'perfect' scope. Each design has its own merits, pros and cons. However the best scope is the one you will use, not one that becomes a tiresome chore to setup or lug around.

There is also a device called the Argo Narvis http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au/
It works for various types of scopes, including DOBS and the concept is very similar to a goto, although its more of a 'push to' system. Its certainly something worth purchasing later on if manual searching of DSO's etc become too much of an effort.

The Orion Dob. intelliscopes have a similar proprietary concept, but I like the idea the Argo Narvis as its an Australian product.

btw: how you thought about a pair of binoculars (eg, 15X70). You will be pleasantly surprised what you can see with those as opposed to the naked eye. They will also make a good companion to a telescope later on.

nb: I scoffed at binoculars, but seriously once you see thru them they are worth purchasing. The only downside is there weight.

Thats my 2 cents worth.:o

[ballaratdragons]

And a very well written threepence-halfpenny worth it was. (for the youg'ens that's pronounced 'Throopence haypny' :D )

[RAJAH235]

Ken, You really are a card. This one nearly killed me!!!!!! :prey2:
Welcome lookupinthesky. :welcome:
The # 1 rule is "Aperture Wins", but it all depends on which way you want to go. Visual or Astrophotography. If visual, then biggest DOB you can fit/afford. If Astro.P/graphic, the sky's the limit.... no pun intended...:P
Go to the Astro camp in Ballarat & look thru lots of t'scopes. Ask lots of Q's. Join your local Society/club.
HTH. :D L.
Lookupinthesky, here's the link to the page. Scroll down a bit for all the info.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=2590&page=5&pp=20

[ballaratdragons]

- :D -



.

[janoskiss]

Welcome and indeed look up to decide. Aperture will win in any comparison. Once you have the telescopes pointed at a celestial target, everyone always prefers the scope with the larger aperture (brighter image). So if you don't mind hunting down targets without the aid of a computer, a big Dob will show you LOTS more for the $ ... It's easy to find your way around the skies with simple charts.. or MilkyWays as I call them... MelWays vs MilkyWays? Getit? :ashamed:

[asimov]

Welcome to the forum lookup!

[iceman]

Hi there! Definitely come to teh star party, read this http://www.iceinspace.com.au/index.php?id=55,215,0,0,1,0 and the associated thread it links to (well, the end of the thread has the most current information). Even if you only come for 1 night, you'll get to look through various sized scopes of different designs, that will help you to decide what's right for you.

How did you hear about IceInSpace?

[rmcpb]

Welcome to the madness.

A point about your question for things to do before the star party. Get some 7x50 binocs and a planisphere then start looking up. Learn the main constellations and named stars then you have the landmarks to use whatever scope you decide to buy (you still need to align a go to scope). On that point, take your time, after all you have your binocs to keep you busy, sit back and go over everything you learn at the star party. My advice would be to go for a mid sized dob, if you decide on a dob, rather than a monster first up as the best scope is one you use the most and large ones are harder to set up and move so tend to be the "biggun" that accompanies the grab and go on those special nights. Don't forget that you need to budget for the extras like red torch, bincos, planisphere, chair, warm clothes, thermos, cheshire eyepiece (if you have a newtonian), Telrad and a cardboard box for all this gear. Don't worry about extra eyepieces straight up as the ones that come with the scope will keep you going for quite a while.

In the meantime just look up and enjoy :)

[davidpretorius]

Hi again,

re binoculars, Andrews sold me my 10" dob and along came a free pair of 10x50 binoculars. (these look the size of the ones used at the horse racing - small & light)

Not been used yet and i also skoffed at the idea!

But, over the last few nights with poor seeing due to clouds, i have been very impressed at what i can see with them. I can see clusters very well!

For andrews to give them away free, they can't be expensive!

I really really like them now!

[lookupinthesky]

Thanks to all for the replays

I have just got a sky map and will do a bit of lookupinthesky tonight to see what I can see.

Is their a good site on the web on how to read a sky map as such? I have an old pair of binocs, which I will attempt to use.

I found the site by chance as I was surfing the web trying to find as much information on the LX 90 SCT

(Which I think is the way I will go on the scope issue) later on I will get a 10 DOB to equal things out.;)

[atalas]

:welcome: to IIS lookupinthesky !



Louie

[acropolite]

:welcome: Lookupinthesky,
I've got an LX90 and love it, although a dob would be nice too. If money's no object then Go-To type scopes are nice, but if the budget's tight then a dob is the go. The LX90 fits in a small car and is easily lifted. It also has tracking which is nice if you're looking at astrophotography, can be controlled from a laptop and easy imaging is now possible without much hassle using the Meade DSI. All current LX's come with an LPI which is a good start for basic planetary imaging. If you're thinking of serious astrophotography you're ultimately better off with an equatorial mount with an appropriate OTA. Look through the old threads in this forum, there's lots of reading which will help you make your decision. Pete's astronomy site details the sort of performance and limitations you can expect from an LX90. http://www.users.bigpond.com/lansma/Default.htm

[ballaratdragons]

Lookupandenjoy,

Are you able to make the Camp? I will book you in if you want to before all the Bunks go. Alternatively you can bring a tent! Let me know :thumbsup:

There will be a wide variety of scopes at the Camp.

[lookupinthesky]

Ken
At the moment yes may be Saturday or Sunday, I have a station wagon and if had to would sleep in it.
Though I’m only 50 mins away from Ballarat I might just go home to sleep.

[ballaratdragons]

That's cool, but the accomodation cost is probably about 50% of your fuel costs driving up & down! It is cheap and we would like to have you stay for at least 2 - 3 nights. You will learn heaps. Not only from the viewing, most people learn more from the general conversation that gets thrown around in the day time. And then theres the talks!

Up to you :thumbsup: